The present invention relates to a clamping mechanism used in changer-type disk playback devices wherein the surfaces of disks stored in the device overlap with the center of rotation of the disk being played back.
Japanese Examined Patent Publication Number 7-86999 discloses a changer-type disk playback device wherein the surfaces of the disks stocked in the device overlap with the center of rotation of the disk being played back. This is done to allow the device to be made more compact and to allow multiple disks to be stored. In the device according to this disclosure, playback means, including an optical pickup, a turntable, and the like, and a clamper arm supporting a clamper, are positioned between a playback disk and stored disks positioned above and below the playback disk. By pivoting the clamper arm upward, the playback disk is lifted up from a tray and mounted on the turntable.
Since the clamper operation is achieved by pivoting the clamper arm upward, the insertion of the clamper arm requires that the interval between the playback disk and the stored disks be increased. As a result, the height of the device is necessarily increased. This decreases the number of disks that can be stored within a particular set of dimensions, such as with car-mounted disk playback devices.